Simple Living
-
Simple and sustainable holidays: Four ideas for a meaningful season
Every year my hope is that the Christmas season brings chances to celebrate and create wonderful memories with loved ones. However, it’s also a time when we tend to spend a lot of time and resources gathering the things we think we need for a meaningful time of celebration. Last year I left preparations a bit late and ended up feeling quite anxious about the whole thing! As a result, this year I’m trying to slow down, appreciate the small and quiet moments of the season, and generally pack less onto the shopping list and calendar. However, there are still gifts to be bought, celebrations to plan and events to…
-
How to Create a Gratitude Jar with Sustainable Materials
At the beginning of this year, I decided to try an experiment with writing down one thing I was grateful for each day. I’m not much for new year’s resolutions, but I was curious to see how this practice would impact my year. Admittedly, I had planned to write this blog post in January, but this season of my life needs a dose of optimism and gratitude, so I thought it would be a great thing to reflect on and share about right now. Why a Gratitude Jar? If you were watching Oprah in the ’90s and 2000s, you likely heard her talking about creating a gratitude journal. That’s the…
-
6 ways to upcycle your way to a unique Halloween costume!
Halloween is a time for spooky fun, and nothing adds to the excitement like dressing up in a unique halloween costume. But rather than spending money on a one-time outfit, try reusing materials from around your home to craft an original, eco-friendly look! It’s budget-friendly, sustainable, and a great way to show off your creativity. Below you’ll find a few ideas for reusing materials to create unforgettable Halloween costumes that the kids (and your neighbors) will remember for years to come. For more ideas check out our past post 20 Easy DIY Costumes! 1. Cardboard Creations: Armor, Robots, and More! I know from experience that cardboard boxes can be transformed…
-
10 of my Favourite Easy Vegan Snack Ideas
As I wrote about previously, I’m currently in a lot of pain and am not able to move much. This means my day is focused on very few things such as physio exercises, taking care of my injury, and food. Because of that, I thought I’d share some of my favourite vegan snack ideas. As I mentioned in my post about my injury, my focus is a little limited, so this post might be short or disjointed (or both!). I appreciate you reading on as I share some of my favourite vegan snacks and focus on healing my body. Healthy Eating to Heal my Body Being that I feel like…
-
Eat local in every season: 3 ways to use rhubarb
It can be challenging to eat local outside of the summer season in southwestern BC. The crops that grow are somewhat limited compared to the abundance of summer, and sometimes you have to be a bit creative to use what’s in season. Rhubarb is a cold weather plant that begins to produce early in the year and so is a great way to add variety to local fare in the spring season. Rhubarb was always in our garden growing up, and we used it mostly to make each other cringe by eating it raw, and in coffee cake. However, there are many more ways to use rhubarb than just these!…
-
Behind the Blog: Introducing Alison
As a companion post to last week’s re-introduction that Alison posted of me, I’m sharing about her! I hope you enjoy getting to know her beyond the details on our About Page! Getting to Know Alison I think one of the first things Alison and I bonded over was our shared love of salt and vinegar chips. From there we’ve moved on to finding treasures in thrift shops, going for walks, and dreaming about buying a chateau in France. It’s hard to narrow down what to share because there’s so much! For example she’s incredibly thoughtful and comes up with the most personal gifts, a few of which she’s posted…